History

A map showing the original boundaries of Cambridge and other Massachusetts cities and towns

The site for what would become Cambridge was chosen in December 1630, because it was located safely upriver from Boston Harbor, which made it easily defensible from attacks by enemy ships. Thomas Dudley, his daughter Anne Bradstreet and her husband Simon, were among the first settlers of the town. The first houses were built in the spring of 1631. The settlement was initially referred to as "the newe towne".[4] Official Massachusetts records show the name capitalized as Newe Towne by 1632, and a single word, Newtowne, by 1638.[5] Located at the first convenient Charles River crossing west of Boston, Newe Towne was one of a number of towns (including Boston, Dorchester, Watertown, and Weymouth), founded by the 700 original Puritan colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony under governor John Winthrop. The original village site is in the heart of today's Harvard Square. The marketplace where farmers brought in crops from surrounding towns to sell survives today as the small park at the corner of John F. Kennedy (J.F.K.) and Winthrop Streets, then at the edge of a salt marsh, since filled. The town included a much larger area than the present city, with various outlying parts becoming independent towns over the years: Newton (originally Cambridge Village, then Newtown) in 1688,[6]Lexington (Cambridge Farms) in 1712, and both West Cambridge (originally Menotomy) and Brighton (Little Cambridge) in 1807.[7] Part of West Cambridge joined the new town of Belmont in 1859, and the rest of West Cambridge was renamed Arlington in 1867; Brighton was annexed by Boston in 1874. In the late 19th century, various schemes for annexing Cambridge itself to the city of Boston were pursued and rejected.[8][9]

In 1636, the Newe College (later renamed Harvard College, after benefactor John Harvard), was founded by the colony to train ministers. The Newe Towne (later named Cambridge) was chosen for the site of the new college by the Great and General Court (the Massachusetts legislature)...primarily, according to testimony by Cotton Mather, to be near the highly respected, popular Puritan preacher Thomas Shepard. By 1638, the name "Newe Towne" had "compacted by usage into 'Newtowne'."[4] In May 1638[10][11] the name was changed to Cambridge in honor of the university in Cambridge, England.[12] Thomas Shepard, the minister of Cambridge's church...Harvard's first president (Henry Dunster)... its first benefactor (John Harvard)... and the first schoolmaster (Nathaniel Eaton) were all Cambridge University alumni...as was the then ruling (and first) governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop. In 1629, Winthrop had led the signing of the founding document of the city of Boston, which was known as the Cambridge Agreement, after the university.[13] It was Governor Thomas Dudley who, in 1650, signed the charter creating the corporation which still governs Harvard College.[14][15]

George Washington in Cambridge, 1775

Cambridge grew slowly as an agricultural village eight miles (13 km) by road from Boston, the capital of the colony. By the Virginia to take command of fledgling volunteer American soldiers camped on the Cambridge Common—today called the birthplace of the U.S. Army. (The name of today's nearby Sheraton Commander Hotel refers to that event.) Most of the Tory estates were confiscated after the Revolution. On January 24, 1776, Henry Knox arrived with artillery captured from Fort Ticonderoga, which enabled Washington to drive the British army out of Boston.

A map of Cambridge from 1873

Between 1790 and 1840, Cambridge began to grow rapidly, with the construction of the West Boston Bridge in 1792, that connected Cambridge directly to Boston, making it no longer necessary to travel eight miles (13 km) through the Boston Neck, Roxbury, and Brookline to cross the Charles River. A second bridge, the Canal Bridge, opened in 1809 alongside the new Middlesex Canal. The new bridges and roads made what were formerly estates and marshland into prime industrial and residential districts.

In the mid-19th century, Cambridge was the center of a literary revolution when it gave the country a new identity through poetry and literature. Cambridge was home to some of the famous Fireside Poets—so called because their poems would often be read aloud by families in front of their evening fires. In their day, the Fireside Poets—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Holmes—were as popular and influential as rock stars are today.

1852 Map of Boston area showing Cambridge and regional rail lines and highlighting the course of the Middlesex Canal. Cambridge is toward the bottom of the map and outlined in yellow, and should not be confused with the pink-outlined and partially cropped "West Cambridge", now Arlington.

Cambridge was incorporated as a city in 1846. This was despite noticeable tensions between East Cambridge, Cambridgeport, and Old Cambridge that stemmed from differences in each area's culture, sources of income, and the national origins of the residents.[16] The city's commercial center began to shift from Harvard Square to Central Square, which became the downtown of the city around this time. Between 1850 and 1900, Cambridge took on much of its present character—streetcar suburban development along the turnpikes, with working-class and industrial neighborhoods focused on East Cambridge, comfortable middle-class housing being built on old estates in Cambridgeport and Mid-Cambridge, and upper-class enclaves near Harvard University and on the minor hills of the city. The coming of the railroad to North Cambridge and Northwest Cambridge then led to three major changes in the city: the development of massive brickyards and brickworks between Massachusetts Ave., Concord Ave. and Alewife Brook; the ice-cutting industry launched by Frederic Tudor on Fresh Pond; and the carving up of the last estates into residential subdivisions to provide housing to the thousands of immigrants that arrived to work in the new industries.

For many decades, the city's largest employer was the New England Glass Company, founded in 1818. By the middle of the 19th century it was the largest and most modern glassworks in the world. In 1888, all production was moved, by Edward Drummond Libbey, to Toledo, Ohio, where it continues today under the name Owens Illinois. Flint glassware with heavy lead content, produced by that company, is prized by antique glass collectors today. There is none on public display in Cambridge, but there is a large collection in the Toledo Museum of Art. There are also a few pieces in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and in the Sandwich Glass Museum on Cape Cod.

Despite intensive urbanization during the late 19th century and 20th century, Cambridge has several historic buildings, including some dating to the 17th century. The city also contains an abundance of innovative contemporary architecture, largely built by Harvard and MIT.

Architecture

[111] and [108] Temporary public artworks are displayed as part of the annual Cambridge River Festival on the banks of the Charles River, during winter celebrations in Harvard and Central Squares, and at university campus sites. Experimental forms of public artistic and cultural expression include the Central Square World's Fair, the Somerville-based annual Honk! Festival,[107] and MIT.[106] and on the campuses of Harvard[105]
Cambridge has a large and varied collection of permanent public art, both on city property (managed by the Cambridge Arts Council),

Museums

Culture, art and architecture

Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) has served the Cambridge community since its inception in 1988. CCTV operates Cambridge's public access television facility and programs three television channels, 8, 9, and 96 on the Cambridge cable system (Comcast). The city has invited tenders from other cable providers; however, presently Comcast remains the only fixed television and broadband utility for Cambridge.[102][103] Services from American satellite TV providers, however, are available. In October 2014, Cambridge City Manager Richard Rossi appointed a citizen Broadband Task Force to "examine options to increase competition, reduce pricing, and improve speed, reliability and customer service for both residents and businesses."[104]

Intercity

Walking is a popular activity in Cambridge. In 2000, of US communities with more than 100,000 residents, Cambridge had the highest percentage of commuters who walked to work.[100] Cambridge's major historic squares have changed into modern walking neighborhoods, including traffic calming features based on the needs of pedestrians rather than of motorists.

The Weeks Bridge provides a pedestrian-only connection between Boston's Allston-Brighton neighborhood and Cambridge over the Charles River

Walking

While Bicycling Magazine in 2006 rated Boston as one of the worst cities in the nation for bicycling,[91] it has given Cambridge honorable mention as one of the best[92] and was called by the magazine "Boston's Great Hope". Boston has since then followed the example of Cambridge, and made considerable efforts to improve bicycling safety and convenience.[93][94][95][96][97][98]

Cambridge has several bike paths, including one along the Charles River,[88] and the Linear Park connecting the Minuteman Bikeway at Alewife with the Somerville Community Path. Bike parking is common and there are bike lanes on many streets, although concerns have been expressed regarding the suitability of many of the lanes. On several central MIT streets, bike lanes transfer onto the sidewalk. Cambridge bans cycling on certain sections of sidewalk where pedestrian traffic is heavy.[89][90]

Cycling

Besides the state-owned transit agency, the city is also served by the Charles River Transportation Management Agency (CRTMA) shuttles which are supported by some of the largest companies operating in city, in addition to the municipal government itself.[87]

Mass transit

Cambridge has an irregular street network because many of the roads date from the colonial era. Contrary to popular belief, the road system did not evolve from longstanding cow-paths. Roads connected various village settlements with each other and nearby towns, and were shaped by geographic features, most notably streams, hills, and swampy areas. Today, the major "squares" are typically connected by long, mostly straight roads, such as Massachusetts Avenue between Harvard Square and Central Square, or Hampshire Street between Kendall Square and Inman Square.

Top employers

In September 2011, an initiative by the City of Cambridge called the "Entrepreneur Walk of Fame" was launched. It seeks to highlight individuals who have made contributions to innovation in the global business community.[84]

None of the high technology firms that once dominated the economy was among the 25 largest employers in 2005, but by 2008 high tech companies Akamai and ITA Software had grown to be among the largest 25 employers.[74]Google,[79]IBM Research, Microsoft Research, and Philips Research[80] maintain offices in Cambridge. In late January 2012—less than a year after acquiring Billerica-based analytic database management company, Vertica—Hewlett-Packard announced it would also be opening its first offices in Cambridge.[81] Around this same time, e-commerce giants Staples[82] and Amazon.com[83] said they would be opening research and innovation centers in Kendall Square. LabCentral also provides a shared laboratory facility for approximately 25 emerging biotech companies.

Economy

Further educational services are provided at the Cambridge Public Library. The large modern main building was built in 2009, and connects to the restored 1888 Richardson Romanesque building. It was originally founded as the private Cambridge Athenaeum in 1849 and was acquired by the city in 1858, and became the Dana Library. The 1888 building was a donation of Frederick H. Rindge.

Higher education

Education

Cambridge was a county seat of Middlesex County, along with Lowell, prior to the abolition of county government. Though the county government was abolished in 1997, the county still exists as a geographical and political region. The employees of Middlesex County courts, jails, registries, and other county agencies now work directly for the state. At present, the county's registrars of Deeds and Probate remain in Cambridge; however, the Superior Court and District Attorney have had their base of operations transferred to Woburn. Third District court has shifted operations to Medford, and the Sheriff's office for the county is still awaiting a near-term relocation.[68][69]

County government

Cambridge is unusual among cities inside Route 128 in having a non-MWRA water supply. City water is obtained from Hobbs Brook (in Lincoln and Waltham), Stony Brook (Waltham and Weston. The city owns over 1,200 acres (486 ha) of land in other towns that includes these reservoirs and portions of their watershed.[65] Water from these reservoirs flows by gravity through an aqueduct to Fresh Pond in Cambridge. It is then treated in an adjacent plant and pumped uphill to an elevation of 176 feet (54 m) above sea level at the Payson Park Reservoir (Belmont); From there, the water is redistributed downhill via gravity to individual users in the city.[66][67] A new water treatment plant opened in 2001. The city used MWRA water during the old plant's demolition and the new plant's construction.

Water department

Engine Company

Ladder Company

Special Unit

Chief

Address

Neighborhood

Engine 1

Ladder 1

Rescue 1

491 Broadway

Harvard Square

Engine 2

Ladder 3

Squad 2

378 Massachusetts Ave.

Lafayette Square

Engine 3

Tower Ladder 2

175 Cambridge St.

East Cambridge

Engine 4

Squad 4

2029 Massachusetts Ave.

Porter Square

Engine 5

Division 1

1384 Cambridge St.

Inman Square

Engine 6

176 River St.

Cambridgeport

Engine 8

Ladder 4

Division 2

113 Garden St.

Taylor Square

Engine 9

167 Lexington Ave.

Strawberry Hill

[64]The city of Cambridge is protected by the Cambridge Fire Department. Established in 1832, the CFD currently operates eight engine companies, four ladder companies, one rescue company, and two paramedic squad companies from eight fire stations located throughout the city. The current Chief is Gerald R. Reardon.

Fire department

In addition to the Cambridge Police Department, the city is patrolled by the Fifth (Brighton) Barracks of Troop H of the Massachusetts State Police.[62] Due, however, to close proximity, the city also practices functional cooperation with the Fourth (Boston) Barracks of Troop H, as well.[63] The campuses of Harvard and MIT are patrolled by the Harvard University Police Department and MIT Police Department, respectively.

Richard C. Rossi is the city manager; he succeeded Robert W. Healy, who retired in June 2013 after serving 32 years in the position. In recent history, the media has highlighted the salary of the city manager as being one of the highest for a civic employee in Massachusetts.[59]

Under the city's Plan E form of government, the city council does not have the power to appoint or remove city officials who are under direction of the city manager. The city council and its individual members are also forbidden from giving orders to any subordinate of the city manager.[58]

The mayor is elected by the city councilors from amongst themselves, and serves as the chair of city council meetings. The mayor also sits on the school committee. However, the mayor is not the chief executive of the city. Rather, the city manager, who is appointed by the city council, serves in that capacity.

Cambridge has a city government led by a mayor and nine-member city council. There is also a six-member school committee which functions alongside the Superintendent of public schools. The councilors and school committee members are elected every two years using the single transferable vote (STV) system.[57]

City government

On the state level, Cambridge is represented in six districts in the Massachusetts House of Representatives: the 24th Middlesex (which includes parts of Belmont and Arlington), the 25th and 26th Middlesex (the latter which includes a portion of Somerville), the 29th Middlesex (which includes a small part of Watertown), and the Eighth and Ninth Suffolk (both including parts of the City of Boston).[55] The city is represented in the Massachusetts Senate as a part of the "First Suffolk and Middlesex" district (this contains parts of Boston, Revere and Winthrop each in Suffolk County); the "Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex" district, which includes Everett and Somerville, with Boston, Chelsea, and Revere of Suffolk, and Saugus in Essex; and the "Second Suffolk and Middlesex" district, containing parts of the City of Boston in Suffolk County, and Cambridge, Belmont and Watertown in Middlesex County.[56]

Cambridge is the birthplace of Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), who is the world's longest reigning monarch at age 85 (early 2013), as well as the longest reigning monarch in Thai history. He is also the first king of a foreign country to be born in the United States.

Cambridge has been ranked as one of the most liberal cities in America.[47] Locals living in and near the city jokingly refer to it as "The People's Republic of Cambridge."[48] For 2012, the residential property tax rate in Cambridge is $8.48 per $1,000.[49] Cambridge enjoys the highest possible bond credit rating, AAA, with all three Wall Street rating agencies.[50]

The median income for a household in the city was $47,979, and the median income for a family was $59,423 (these figures had risen to $58,457 and $79,533 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[46]). Males had a median income of $43,825 versus $38,489 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,156. About 8.7% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.

In the city, the age distribution was as follows: 13.3% of the population was under the age of 18, 21.2% from 18 to 24, 38.6% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males.

In 2010, there were 44,032 households out of which 16.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.9% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.4% were non-families. 40.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.76.

Consisting largely of densely built residential space, Cambridge lacks significant tracts of public parkland. This is partly compensated for, however, by the presence of easily accessible open space on the university campuses, including Harvard Yard, the Radcliffe Yard, and MIT's Great Lawn, as well as the considerable open space of Mount Auburn Cemetery. At the western edge of Cambridge, the cemetery is well known as the first garden cemetery, for its distinguished inhabitants, for its superb landscaping (the oldest planned landscape in the country), and as a first-rate arboretum. Although known as a Cambridge landmark, much of the cemetery lies within the bounds of Watertown.[28] It is also a significant Important Bird Area (IBA) in the Greater Boston area.

Alewife Brook Reservation

Parks and outdoors

Brattle area/West Cambridge (Area 10) is bordered on the north by Concord Avenue and Garden Street, on the south by the Charles River and the Watertown border, on the west by Fresh Pond and the Collins Branch Library, and on the east by JFK Street. It includes the sub-neighborhoods of Brattle Street (formerly known as Tory Row) and Huron Village.

MIT Campus (Area 2) is bordered on the north by Broadway, on the south and east by the Charles River, and on the west by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks.

Wellington-Harrington (Area 3) is bordered on the north by the Somerville border, on the south and west by Hampshire Street, and on the east by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks. Referred to as "Mid-Block".

Area 4 is bordered on the north by Hampshire Street, on the south by Massachusetts Avenue, on the west by Prospect Street, and on the east by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks. Residents of Area 4 often refer to their neighborhood simply as "The Port", and refer to the area of Cambridgeport and Riverside as "The Coast".

Cambridgeport (Area 5) is bordered on the north by Massachusetts Avenue, on the south by the Charles River, on the west by River Street, and on the east by the Grand Junction Railroad tracks.

Mid-Cambridge (Area 6) is bordered on the north by Kirkland and Hampshire Streets and the Somerville border, on the south by Massachusetts Avenue, on the west by Peabody Street, and on the east by Prospect Street.

Riverside (Area 7), an area sometimes referred to as "The Coast," is bordered on the north by Massachusetts Avenue, on the south by the Charles River, on the west by JFK Street, and on the east by River Street.

Agassiz (Harvard North) (Area 8) is bordered on the north by the Somerville border, on the south and east by Kirkland Street, and on the west by Massachusetts Avenue.

Neighborhood Nine or Radcliffe (formerly called Peabody, until a recent relocation of a neighborhood school by that name) is bordered on the north by railroad tracks, on the south by Concord Avenue, on the west by railroad tracks, and on the east by Massachusetts Avenue.

The residential neighborhoods in Cambridge border, but are not defined by the squares. These neighborhoods include:

Inman Square, at the junction of Cambridge and Hampshire streets in Mid-Cambridge. Inman Square is home to many diverse restaurants, bars, music venues and boutiques. The funky street scene still holds some urban flair, but was dressed up recently with Victorian streetlights, benches and bus stops. A new community park was installed and is a favorite place to enjoy some takeout food from the nearby restaurants and ice cream parlor.

Harvard Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and JFK Street. This is the primary site of Harvard University, and is a major Cambridge shopping area. It is served by a Red Line station. Harvard Square was originally the northwestern terminus of the Red Line and a major transfer point to streetcars that also operated in a short tunnel—which is still a major bus terminal, although the area under the Square was reconfigured dramatically in the 1980s when the Red Line was extended. The Harvard Square area includes Brattle Square and Eliot Square. A short distance away from the square lies the Cambridge Common, while the neighborhood north of Harvard and east of Massachusetts Avenue is known as Agassiz in honor of the famed scientist Louis Agassiz.

Central Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street, and Western Avenue, is well known for its wide variety of ethnic restaurants. As recently as the late 1990s it was rather run-down; it underwent a controversial gentrification in recent years (in conjunction with the development of the nearby University Park at MIT), and continues to grow more expensive. It is served by the Central Station stop on the MBTA Red Line subway. Lafayette Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street, and Main Street, is considered part of the Central Square area. Cambridgeport is south of Central Square along Magazine Street and Brookline Street.

Kendall Square, formed by the junction of Broadway, Main Street, and Third Street, is also known as Technology Square, a name shared with an office and laboratory building cluster in the neighborhood. Just over the Longfellow Bridge from Boston, at the eastern end of the MIT campus, it is served by the Kendall/MIT station on the MBTARed Line subway. Most of Cambridge's large office towers are located here, giving the area somewhat of an office park feel. A flourishing biotech industry has grown up around this area. The Cambridge Innovation Center, a large co-working space, is located in Kendall Square at 1 Broadway. The "Cambridge Center" office complex is located in Kendall Square, and not at the actual center of Cambridge. The "One Kendall Square" complex is nearby, but—confusingly—not actually in Kendall Square.

Cambridge has been called the "City of Squares" by some,[26][27] as most of its commercial districts are major street intersections known as squares. Each of the squares acts as a neighborhood center. These include:

Geography

As of 2012, Cambridge's mix of amenities and proximity to Boston has kept housing prices relatively stable despite the bursting of the United States housing bubble. Cambridge has been a sanctuary city since 1985 and reaffirmed its status as such in 2006.[24][25]

By the end of the 20th century, Cambridge had one of the most expensive housing markets in the Northeastern United States. While maintaining much diversity in class, race, and age, it became harder and harder for those who grew up in the city to be able to afford to stay. The end of rent control in 1994 prompted many Cambridge renters to move to housing that was more affordable, in Somerville and other communities. In 2005, a reassessment of residential property values resulted in a disproportionate number of houses owned by non-affluent people jumping in value relative to other houses, with hundreds having their property tax increased by over 100%; this forced many homeowners in Cambridge to move elsewhere.[23]

After the 1950s, the city's population began to decline slowly, as families tended to be replaced by single people and young couples. The 1980s brought a wave of high-technology startups, creating software such as Visicalc and Lotus 1-2-3, and advanced computers, but many of these companies fell into decline with the fall of the minicomputer and DOS-based systems. The city continues to be home to many startups as well as a thriving biotech industry which includes headquarters for Biogen and Genzyme and laboratories for Novartis. Kendall Square continued to be a major software hub through the dot-com boom and today hosts offices of major technology companies including Google, Microsoft, Amazon.com, and Akamai (headquarters).

As industry in New England began to decline during the Great Depression and after World War II, Cambridge lost much of its industrial base. It also began the transition to being an intellectual, rather than an industrial, center. Harvard University had always been important in the city (both as a landowner and as an institution), but it began to play a more dominant role in the city's life and culture. When Radcliffe College was established in 1879 the town became a mecca for some of the nation's most academically talented female students. Also, the move of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from Boston in 1916 ensured Cambridge's status as an intellectual center of the United States.

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